Willets Point developers face king's ransom in Albany

A court ruled Tuesday that the Willets Point redevelopment needs state approval because its proposed mall is slated for parkland. Wrangling votes in Albany figures to be a major challenge. The developers could be required to create 47 acres of parkland—roughly equivalent to the size of Madison Square, Union Square, Washington Square, Tompkins Square and Bryant parks combined.

Locating that much land in the general vicinity of Willets Point would be extremely difficult. And purchasing it would not likely be economically feasible for The Related Cos. and Sterling Equities, the developers of the ambitious project. However, an early proposal that included a casino instead of the mall would have replaced 32 acres of park with land elsewhere in the Willets Point project area. It is unclear where exactly it was and whether it is still available.

"I'm always open to discussions if they want to come to the state Legislature," said state Sen. Tony Avella, a plaintiff on the winning side of the court ruling. "But we won a major victory and now they have to do the right thing."

The Bloomberg administration approved Sterling, which controls the New York Mets, and Related in 2012 to develop the first phase of a larger transformation of more than 60 acres of gritty auto shops and junkyards east of Citi Field. However, the development team also proposed a shopping mall and entertainment complex on a parking lot west of the stadium, which—though covered in asphalt—is technically parkland. They unsuccessfully argued that a 1961 law allowing Shea Stadium to operate in Flushing Meadows Corona Park exempted them from getting Albany to specifically permit a mall, or decommission the parkland altogether.

Alienating parkland does not necessarily require that it be replaced. But governors and legislators often prefer a swap so that the total green space available to the public remains the same.

The developers and the city said they are exploring all options, and a City Hall spokeswoman emphasized Tuesday that the ruling does not stop development to the east of the stadium, which was not challenged in the lawsuit.

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